The present invention relates generally to container lids, and more particularly relates to doors provided in container lids.
Containers are used for a plethora of goods, including organic or perishable items such as food or spices. The conventional lid for a spice container contains an array of small holes for dispensing the small sized contents, typically in the form of powders or small particles, while a door is operable to cover and reveal the array of dispensing holes. It is desirable to have an easy-to-open door, and one such door commonly used with spice containers is a double-hinged door. This type of door generally comprises two different sections hinged together, one of those sections being hinged to the lid. The structure of the lid beneath the door is designed such that pressing downwardly on the door section hinged to the lid causes the other door section to flip upwardly revealing the array of dispensing holes.
While the door should be easy opening, the contents need to be properly sealed to preserve the integrity of the contents since they are organic. Thus, it is common for the underside of a door portion to include pegs which are sized and spaced to engage the array of holes and individually seal each hole. These peg and hole pairs do hinder the opening of the door to a certain degree, but are not prohibitive. More particularly, as the flip section rotates, the peg and hole pairs closest to the hinged connection of the door sections are the last to become unsealed, and hence the flip section is at a substantial angle as are its pegs. Thus, the pegs are usually bent while at least partially within the hole, requiring increased force to open and close the door.
Unfortunately, these lids are unable to dispense products that are not intended to be shaken out of the container. A person must turn the container upside down or at least sideways to dispense product, which is not suitable for all types of products. Similarly, one cannot reach into the container to remove items, whether or not they are capable of being shaken out of the container. Moreover, these containers and lids are generally in a very controlled environment, such as a shelf or cupboard, where inadvertent opening of the door is unlikely. Even so, clean up is usually not a problem. It will be recognized that there are numerous other environments in which small containers are used that are not as hospitable, and are less controlled such that inadvertent opening of the container is more likely. For example, inadvertent opening is more likely in a person""s pocket or their bag where the environment is more volatile, and is not a place where spills are easily cleaned or otherwise dealt with. Therefore, there exists a need for a container lid that can dispense the contents without shaking or turning the container upside down, and which also protects from inadvertent opening in a more hostile and less controlled environment.
In light of the above, it is a general aim of the present invention to provide a container lid having a double hinged door covering a large dispensing hole, the door being operable to reliably seal the hole and protect the contents of the container.
In that regard, it is an object of the present invention to provide such a lid having a dispensing hole that allows a person to retrieve items from the container by directly grasping or pinching the items rather than shaking them.
It is a further object of the present invention to prevent inadvertent opening the door and breaking of the seal.
In accordance with these objects, the present invention provides a lid for a container comprising a main body having a recess. The recess includes a first portion and a second portion separated by a pivot wall. A door is sized to be received within the recess, the door comprising a flip section pivotally connected to a push section, the push section pivotally connected to the main body. The flip section is positioned to engage the pivot wall and rotate towards the push section in response to downward pressure on the push section. The first portion of the recess has a dispensing hole for dispensing product, the dispensing hole preferably covering an area at least 0.9 square inches. Finally, an underside of the flip section of the door includes a sealing ring projecting downwardly, the sealing ring sized to correspond with the dispensing hole to provide a seal. This construction uniquely preserves the contents of the container while providing a larger hole suitable for other methods of retrieving the contents of the container.
According to more detailed aspects of the present embodiment, the dispensing hole more preferably covers an area at least 1.25 square inches and is sized to accommodate at least two human fingers. Most preferably, the dispensing hole covers at least 2.0 square inches. The sealing ring extends around the outer periphery of the flip section, while the dispensing hole covers a majority of the first portion of the recess.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, a container lid is provided generally comprising a main body having a recess. The recess includes a first portion and a second portion separated by a pivot wall, the first and second portions each having a floor. A door is sized to be received within the recess, the door comprising a flip section pivotally connected to a push section, the push section pivotally connected to the main body. The flip section is positioned to engage the pivot wall and rotate towards the push section in response to downward pressure on the push section. The first portion of the recess includes a dispensing hole for dispensing product, the dispensing hole covering at least 75% of the first portion of the recess. An underside of the flip section of the door has a sealing ring projecting downwardly, the sealing ring sized to correspond with the dispensing hole to provide a seal. More preferably, the dispensing hole covers at least 85% and most preferably 95% of the first recess portion.
According to more detailed aspects of the present embodiment, the main body is divided into a first body portion and a second body portion, the first body portion containing the first recess portion and the second body portion containing the second recess portion. Preferably, dispensing hole covers at least 70% of the first body portion, and more preferably covers at least 75% and most preferably at least 80% of the first body portion. In terms of the entire closure, the dispensing hole preferably covers at least 20% of the total area of the closure, more preferably 30% and most preferably 40%.
According to a further embodiment of the present invention, a lid for a container having organic goods is provided generally comprising a main body having a recess. The recess includes a first portion and a second portion separated by a pivot wall, the first and second portions each having side walls and a floor. A door is sized to be received within the recess, the door comprising a flip section pivotally connected to a push section, the push section pivotally connected to the main body. The flip section is positioned to engage the pivot wall and rotate from a closed position to an open position in response to downward pressure on the push section. The first portion of the recess has a dispensing hole for dispensing product, and an underside of the flip section of the door has a sealing ring projecting downwardly. The sealing ring is sized to correspond with the dispensing hole to provide a seal when the flip section of the door is in a closed position. Further, a detent is located in the push section to positively position the push section in its closed position and prevent inadvertent opening of the flip section. Preferably, the detent comprises a at least one tab and at least one notch, the tab formed in one of the push section and the side wall of the second recess portion, and the notch formed in the other one of the push section and the side wall of the second recess portion. Alternately the detent may comprise a pin and socket or a tongue and groove. Most preferably, the lid includes an additional notch vertically spaced from the first notch, so that the tab positioned to sequentially engage the two notches. The sealing ring of the flip section frictionally engages the main body in the closed position to securely position the flip section, while the detent securely positions the push section in the closed position.